Khamenei’s late November and mid-December speeches deny any outreach to Washington, cast recent conflicts as failed US-Israeli aggression, and redefine the main threat to Iran as a Western-led media and identity war rather than direct military attack.

Khamenei used his Basij Week address to cast Iran as the winner of the 12-Day War, portray the U.S. as globally reviled for its interventions, and link Iran’s Basij model to growing international support for resistance movements.

A Quds Force plot to assassinate Israel’s ambassador to Mexico was disrupted through U.S.-Israeli cooperation, reflecting Iran’s widening overseas targeting strategy and growing activity in Latin America.

Tehran faces catastrophic water shortages, with reservoirs nearly empty and food inflation worsening social and economic instability.

Oman is urging Washington and Tehran to resume nuclear negotiations after Israeli strikes derailed talks, but Iran’s leadership insists that relations with the U.S. are fundamentally adversarial while President Trump touts military success over diplomacy.

Iran says it will build eight new reactors with Russia to reach 20,000 megawatts of nuclear power, a high ambition that collides with sanctions, limited inspections, and recent wartime damage to key sites.